Allegri: ‘Napoli have only four midfielders, Arteta sorted out Arsenal defence’ | OneFootball

Max Allegri reveals Napoli lost Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa too in the Champions League. ‘Mikel Arteta sorted out the Arsenal defence, tomorrow I have four midfielders, three will start.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday at 20.00 UK time (21.00 CEST).

This is the first Champions League tie of the season for the Partenopei, who have run into difficulty under their new coach since Antonio Conte’s departure.

After winning the Serie A opener at Genoa, they lost to both Como and Inter, suffering back-to-back defeats.

Allegri wants new Napoli start in Europe

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Massimiliano Allegri, Manager of Napoli, reacts during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 05, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“Tomorrow is a different competition from Serie A, a sort of mini-league, where we need 12 points to secure qualification for the next round,” said Allegri in his press conference.

While Napoli failed to get beyond the league phase last season, Arsenal made it all the way to the Final, eventually capitulating to Paris Saint-Germain.

“Arsenal are the vice-champions of Europe, won the Premier League, and Mikel Arteta has done an extraordinary job in the last four years. We know the difficulties of this match, which we must go into with pride and the desire to do well.”

NAPLES, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Frank Zambo Anguissa of SSC Napoli celebrates after scoring his side third goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and FC Internazionale at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 25, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Considering the struggles that Napoli have had, it has been suggested that Allegri could scrap the 4-3-3 formation, especially after losing Scott McTominay for a couple of months to heart surgery.

“Absolutely not, there will not be a change of system. As you know, McTominay had an operation this morning, but we’ve also lost Anguissa, who had an adductor problem today. It’s a question mark over David Neres too, we’ll see if his knee is still bothering him tomorrow morning, because he might be out too.

“I’ve only got four midfielders, so three of them will start tomorrow.”

GENOA, ITALY – AUGUST 22: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli looks on during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on August 22, 2026 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)

Kevin De Bruyne has largely been a substitute figure so far this season after last year’s injuries.

“He is an extraordinary player, who only arrived to work with us on August 5, but he will probably be ready to play tomorrow.”

Napoli had been leading 2-0 at San Siro before Inter came back for the 3-2 victory, so that had to hit confidence hard.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Rasmus Hojlund of Napoli reacts during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 05, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

“It was a beautiful game on Saturday, also due to our naivete, but Inter could well say the same. This is football, but tomorrow is a different tournament entirely,” insisted Allegri.

“We are up against one of the best, Europe gives you different motivation and adrenaline. When we don’t have the ball, we must defend better as a team, because so far against both Como and Inter, we left something to be desired on that front.

“We’ve got to take it one step at a time, but also have faith, because the Champions League is an ambition we must all have. This will push us forward.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 06: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts with Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on September 06, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Arsenal won the Premier League last season after a lengthy absence from that trophy, having come close several times under Arteta.

“He did well to sort out their defence, as Arsenal concede very few goals, and they work together as a team. It’s their greatest strength,” noted Allegri.